


Masterpiece in the Making

by isolov



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, I tag this as ryukita but nothing really shippy happens, I'm bad at tags as always, M/M, beyond them pining lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:47:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isolov/pseuds/isolov
Summary: Another one of those ryukita painting fics! Now with subconscious pining for your bro and Ryuji wondering why Yusuke wants him to model for him.
Relationships: Kitagawa Yusuke/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 2
Kudos: 68





	Masterpiece in the Making

Ryuji was a lot of things. A disgraced trackstar on the rebound, a delinquent looking kid who was truly a good boy by all his friend’s standards, a kid who swore too much but censored himself from saying “fuck” for some reason, but a model is not one of those things. So that’s why he’s looking at Yusuke like he just grew a second head, because he might as well have.

“Why the hell do you wanna paint me? Wouldn’t Akira or one of the girls make a way better model?”

Yusuke mulls over the blond’s words for a few moments, his hand resting on his chin. Ryuji knew he had a point — even if he knew absolutely nothing about art  — because all their other friends were much more aesthetically pleasing than he was. Hell, Yusuke was included in that list too, though Ryuji’s adjectivity from it could’ve been from his own lack of self worth. That was definitely possible. In any case, the amount of time Yusuke is putting into his answer is slightly worrying, and Ryuji’s starting to draw his own conclusions in the silence.

“Your physique is not found in any of the other members. Obviously all of us have muscles considering our line of work, but you’re the only one among us who played a sport before this, and actively seeks to work out in the gym whenever possible. Besides, this project is an anatomy study, so it would be best for my model to have defined muscles such as yours.”

Ryuji’s ears flush a noticeable red at Yusuke’s explanations, eyes going wide as he scrambled to refute him. He’s dismayed that he really can’t, but something about the subtle praise has him fidgeting in place. It wasn’t like he was a massive bodybuilder or anything, but he had to admit, he was proud of the effects of his training. He wasn’t so self conscious as to be bashful about his body, but he also had to admit that being under the critical eye of Yusuke left him a little unnerved.

“You’re free to decline of course, I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable in any way.”

“No, nah, ‘s fine. Uh, how do you want me?”

Yusuke’s features brighten at the acceptance, and Ryuji feels his blush creep down his face.  _ Damn pretty boy _ floats through the blond’s mind, and what was once meant as a passing exasperation now cruelly cemented itself as an endearment in his mind. Sucked that it worked like that, really.

“I was hoping you’d be able to do a handstand for me, so in the middle of the room should suffice.”

“Uh, on my hands? It’s not a problem, but I dunno if I can hold it as long as you need me too.”

“I see. Will using your forearms take some of the strain off? You’ll need to hold the pose for a few hours so having you collapse before then would be problematic.” 

Ryuji’s touched by the thoughtfulness of the gesture, and he nods in agreement. Holding a handstand for an hour or two was probably impossible, but he’s willing to try it for as long as he can. Besides, Yusuke is not so cruel as to not give him a break if he needs one. So, shedding his shirt at the artist’s request, Ryuji flipped up into a handstand and kept his balance by keeping his legs straight.

Yusuke immediately begins his rough sketches, trying to be quick for Ryuji’s comfort but also not sacrificing the quality. With the basic shapes of a body in various poses done, the taller of the two begins to refine them and add the details. He glances up every now and then to sketch the shape of Ryuji’s abs or his legs. Yusuke would testify to not looking at Ryuji from an aesthetic point of view often, really only seeing him as some brute until they became friends. Even then he really only reserved his artistic thoughts for their other friends; Haru and Akira’s curly hair, Ann’s look overall, the curve of Futaba’s spine as she hunched in her chairs, etc. But as time went on, Yusuke began to see Ryuji like that too. Though there was this odd fluttering feeling in his chest that’s been growing in his chest lately, and it was only when he was hanging out with Ryuji. Troubling.

“Hey, you good dude? You were kinda spacin’ out there.”

Ryuji’s words make Yusuke blink out of his thoughts, and it’s then that he realized that he did in fact get lost in his thoughts, leaving a half finished sketch at the tip of his pencil. Being caught in the act makes his cheeks flush, but he dismisses the thought with a wave of his hand. “I apologize, I got lost in my thoughts for a moment.” Yusuke finishes the sketches soon after that, and Ryuji flops on the ground with a relieved sigh. He managed to get a handful of sketches done within the hour or two, and Yusuke even got a few in of Ryuji lounging around during his breaks, purely for a wider variation in dynamic poses, of course.

He spends a few more moments looking over his work, and he feels oddly content with it. Usually his rough drafts never make it past that stage, but there wasn’t much Yusuke wanted or needed to fix, and the urge to throw it away and start anew wasn’t there. In his review he misses Ryuji wandering over to lean against his chair, brown eyes staring at his profile. “Hey, can I look?” He speaks up a moment later, and Yusuke startles slightly, forgetting that the other boy was even there. “Oh, of course.”

To an untrained eye, it was breathtaking. Ryuji’s eyes widen at the page full of sketches of him, taken aback by how good he looked. He looked like some kind of demigod or something, lean muscles displaying raw power and stereotypical masculinity in his stretches and poses. And even among the hardness and intensity, there was still drawings of him leaning up against the wall, shoulders slumped and bright smiles as he looked at Yusuke. The twinkle in his eye was obvious even in the graphite, and a familiar warmth filled his chest. “Dude, this is really good! Wow, you really made me look good!”

“Thank you, and all I did was merely put it to paper, it doesn’t even capture half of your brilliance. I’m considering making one of these into my composition piece, both to show the world your radiance and also because you make a wonderful model.”

The fondness in the artist’s tone takes Ryuji by surprise, and the warmth in his chest curls around his heart and creeps up his cheeks. Ryuji’s infamous for being pretty dense, but he thinks he reads this situation loud and clear. “Well, I’m glad I was helpful! Hey, uh, do you wanna grab somethin’ to eat? I know you gotta be starvin’ after just watchin’ and drawin’ me.”

It’s Yusuke’s turn to have his eyes widen in surprise, but a grateful smile lifts his lips up soon after. “I would enjoy that very much. I assume we’re getting ramen?”

**Author's Note:**

> p5r as been taking over my life for the past like week so what better way to celebrate that than by writing about my fave boys anf my fave pairing! I've got a souyo fic in the works too, if any of y'all are into p4 too ;). anyways I hope y'all enjoy it and that everyone's saying safe and sane in these trying times <3.


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